JOHATHAN TALCOTT ON POTATOES 
FOR 1873. 
Having given, last year, an unfavorable 
opinion of Campbell’s Lata Rose Potato, and 
that gentleman having demurred at my de¬ 
cision, also to the soil on which they were, 
t ested, and requested me to try them another 
season on different soil and then report re¬ 
sult ; I do so. The past year I planted one- 
lialf bushel on as nice gravelly soil, free from 
weeds as I have on the farm. It had been 
laid on by sheep and cattle for a number of 
years, as a night pasture, was well covered 
with their manure, and their urine of course 
was voided there each morning before leav¬ 
ing the ground, thus making the soil well 
calculated to bear any crop that was planted 
there. The field lios high and dry at all sea¬ 
sons, just the place to grow a lino crop of 
good table potatoes, as there was no fresh 
manure put on the field the past season. The 
field contained a little over on acre, was 
planted to Campbell’s Late Rose to the ex¬ 
tent of one-half bushel of seed, Thorburn's 
Late Rose, and Excelsior. The Campbell’s 
grew till killed by frost in September. Thor- 
burus were ripe before the frost, and the 
Excelsior nearly so. The yield of Campbell’s 
was much less than either of the others and 
the quality not so good as the yield ; when 
boiled they am too soggy for the table ; when 
baked they are bettor, but not equal to either 
of the others named. In the course of my 
experiments the past five years 1 have not 
found as good a potato for the table on my 
farm as the Exoelsior. In regard to Camp¬ 
bell’s Late Rose I would still advise the 
in tlidin the two beat new potatoes I ever 
planted ; yield 4 bushels and fi lbs. of Early 
Vermont, of as fine potatoes as / ever saw; 
was used alongside, in rows, under the same 
circumstances, and the result was very 
marked in favor of the Indian meal. Our 
as clean as they would hay. I only fed 
horses on it during one winter. As usual 
with farm horses during winter in Western 
Pennsylvania, they hod no heavy work. I 
valued it highly as winter feed for the kinds 
of stock above mentioned. Considered that 
I could raise three tons of it on ground where 
1 could grow one of hay, and that one ton 
and a half was worth as much as one ton of 
best hay, perhaps more. That which I fed 
to horses was thick sowed in rows three feet 
apart, stalks averaging about fifteen to the 
foot of row (I generally profered ten). It did 
not grow to average over four feet high but 
had quite a number of small ears, or “ nub¬ 
bins.” While feeding it, 1 fed no grain ; but 
when feeding hay I fed corn in the ear, about 
a peck of ears per day to each horse. 
Greeley, Colorado. J. H. Foster. 
dfiqm <£coitomt|. 
Bjtenic ..Information, 
FOWLS’ FLESH BLACK. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
I would like if you, or some one, could 
tell me what ails my chickens ? I dressed a 
chicken a few days ago and found the meat 
apparently black on the under side of the 
fowl, and the legs and wings. They appear 
perfectly well, eat hearty of good Indian 
corn. I wished to investigate the matter, so 
I cooked it and found the breast bone entire¬ 
ly black, and a black slime all over the other 
bones. The thin skin separating the meat 
was black. The meat did not look much 
black. One neighbor lias chickens the same. 
He says he never saw any till this summer, 
and can tell them before killing by the black 
look of the legs. We would like to know if 
it is a disease ? Mrs. C. A. 
This is something we know nothing about. 
Who does ? 
Chicken Cholera in Indiana .—An Indiana 
correspondent says :—“ We have had a great 
deal of chicken cholera here ; but since we 
gave them plenty of logwood, or oak bark 
ooze in their water trough, they have it very 
little.” 
Ducks and Chickens.— G. E. W. S.: If we 
were going to advise you, it would be to pur¬ 
chase the Peoples’ Practical Poultry Book. 
White Holland Turkeys. — I see turkeys 
with this name are advertised. Do you 
know anything about them ?— Silex. 
We do not. 
“ White Cobury” Fowls were exhibited 
at the Rhinebeck, N. Y., Fair. Who knows 
anything about such a breed ? 
FIELD NOTES. 
Potato Correction.—In the Rural New- 
Yorker, Dec. G, you have a note from me 
on the Compton Surprise Potato, and you 
make me say that I raised only a half bushel. 
if you will look again at the note you will 
find I said a good half barrel. My name is 
N. W. Riker and not N. W. Pike as you 
have it. I ask the. correction only on account 
of the potato.— N. w. R. 
Flo u r Com .— Ch a rubs S. Horton sends 
us an ear of corn, of which he asks us to say 
whether it is a now variety or not. No, it is 
not; it has long been known und cultivated, 
and we iievoi - knew it to be very highly 
valued. 
Pic $lou1ti[j) §m[d 
MOOBE’S 
NEW-YORKER. 
officii (Pop. 
farmers in this latitude at least to give it a 
wide berth ; it is too late for the season, and 
too poor fur the table, and will not yield 
more thau other sorts we now have that 
are better potatoes than this variety. I know 
people differ iu regard to potatoes, and jk>- 
tatoes will vary on different farms, and 
soils ; as witness the statement of Andrew 
H. Nash of Westford, Conn., In Rural New- 
Yorker of Nov. 22d. I will take Mr. Nash's 
potatoes, both Compton Surprise, and Extra 
Early Vermont, at his offer und price, if he 
will let me have them. I planted both kinds 
he names at same ju ice and 1 fool that I have 
will beat the Excelsior with me this season, 
and that is what no other sort has done 
before on my farm ; soil the same. Try 
them once more Mr. Nash. J. Tai.cott. 
Rome, N. Y., Dec. 10th, 18711. 
P. S.—Since writing the description of soil, 
yield and quality of Campbell’s Late Rose 
potato on my grounds, I have received a 
letter from a friend that I gave a sample to 
last spring (as published in the Rural that I 
would do to all w ho wished to test them). 
The letter says :—“ I planted them with my 
other sorts on a soil of gravelly loam, fall 
plowed sod—what I call fine potato soil. 
The result, a moderate yield of very large 
and very small potatoes—very watery and 
poor, while Excelsior, Lapstone Kidney, and 
Idaho on the same soil gave a large yield of 
very fine quality.” Boil and culture in Scho¬ 
harie Co,, N. Y. 
I also notice in Rural of Doc. 0, which 
came to hand same mail, what D. Aug. 
Vanderveer says of Campbell’s Late Rose, 
but he only speaks of their yield and says 
nothing of quality or where he raised them. 
Why don’t cultivators give soil, situation, 
&c., whether North or South, in their state¬ 
ments of experiments ! 
1 forgot, to mention in proper place that 
the potatoes mentioned in this were dug Oct. 
10, and Campbell’s Late Rose were then in 
blossom. I never saw a blossom on any I 
have cultivated the past two years ; I sup¬ 
pose the seasons were too short for them to 
perfect blossoms here. 
It is easily to be seen that on different soils 
and latitudes, the results are widely different, 
but in this latitude faimers don’t want a 
late potato. J. Talcott. 
■-— 
SOWED CORN ^OR HORSES. 
I notice uu inquiry in a recent Rural 
New-Yorker for information from persons 
who have used sowed corn as cured fodder 
for horses. During an experience of several 
years on a farm, 1 used over ten acres of 
sowed corn as winter provender for horses, 
cows, sheep and calves. My hay was gener¬ 
ally early cut, well cured, mixed timothy 
and clover. My horses preferred the cured 
corn fodder to such hay, and ate it up about 
INDIAN MEAL AS A FERTILIZER. 
Tub Practical Farmer says :—Benj. Shep¬ 
herd of Greenwich, Now Jersey, roeontly 
brought iuto our office some samples ol’ 
Campbell’s late Rose potatoes. These were 
the first of this variety we had seen, are 
attractive in appearance, though the surface 
is not smooth like Early Rose, having more 
or less of knots. This may havo been acci¬ 
dental. 
The kind of fertilizer used was Indian meal, 
strewed along the rows, about in the same I 
1 m a.vi PamviMD oiiaiia Thk 
AJ AVLIAVA. AJ. U11CJ7IU-I U, Ufia UUIUi l ICQUOU 
the value of this as a fertilizer, both on grass 
and on wheat, with excellent results, and as 
it is only about Jinlf the cost of many of the 
fertilizers in market , he strongly recommend* 
fanners to make u trial of it, by a small atrip 
sown on wheat fields the present fall. Ap¬ 
plied in hills of corn has had remarkable 
effect in stimulating growth, the same as 
guano, and like the latter it lias killed the 
corn when in contact with the growing 
genn. The stimulating effect of Indian meal 
must be owing to the nitrogenous elements 
contained in it. Its consistence in a fine 
powder renders it speedy of decomposition 
and quick in action. Out West, corn is used 
for fuel, and it may be found valuable here 
as a fertilizer, in the event of heavy crops.— 
ROUGH PLOWING. 
At a meeting of the Bristol (Wis) Club, one 
member advocated rough plowing. -In plow¬ 
ing sod he wanted to see it kinkled up. The 
appearance of a piece of sod he had broken, 
bad caused his neighbors to enquire if his 
hogs had rooted it up, but when harvest 
came, he would not exchange, with his 
neighbors at the rate of two acres of theirs 
for one of his. Had set two men to plowing 
once ; one with a plow that scoured, and one 
with a plow that didn’t. They followed each 
other around the furrow. One turned a nice 
clean furrow, the other pushed it into a sort 
of ridge. The next day one plowed alone, 
using the good plow and left the land per¬ 
fectly smooth and level. The crop on the 
roughly plowed strip was away ahead of 
that on the laud, which was plowed so nicely. 
In both these cases the land was plowed in 
the fall. The explanation is, the rough land 
was in better position to be acted upon by 
the weather, the particles were forced apart 
by the action of the frost. 
CHESTER WHITES IN DISREPUTE. 
The Journal of the Farm says; — “It is 
very evident from the notes of our distant, 
correspondents, and from our exchangee, 
thut Chester White hogs are falling into dis¬ 
repute. We regret this, because we know 
it i i not the fault of the breed, but results 
from an almost indiscriminate shipment of 
all kinds of white pigs in Chester County. 
When the demand was at its highest point, 
dealers were scouring the County and buy¬ 
ing up any kind of pigs so they had no black 
hair, and shipping them abroad to the disap¬ 
pointment of purchasers, and discredit of 
the Chester Whites. They can scarcely be 
claimed to be a distinct breed, but are only 
the result of many years careful crossing, 
and not having their characteristics fixed, 
show a strong tendency to revert to their 
original state. 
-♦♦♦- 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
Charcoal for Swine., the Country Gentle¬ 
man says, is frequently prescribed in agri- I 
cultural papers, without any directions as to 
quantity, it should not be given carelessly 
aud at random. Good, fresh charcoal, prop¬ 
erly pulverized, may he given at the rate of 
one toospoonful for every hundred pounds of 
animal, whatever its size may be, aud at this 
rate will do no harm nor scour the animals, 
and may often be very useful. 
Lancaster Swine .—In a Western paper I 1 
see “imported Lancaster hogs” spoken of as 
having taken the sweepstakes prize at the 
Kansas State Fair this year. You have 
among your readers and correspondents 
many breeders of swine. Perhaps they can 
tell me something about this breed—If it. is a 
breed. I do not find it mentioned in the pro¬ 
ceedings of the National Swine Breeders’ 
Convention.— R. S. Simpson. 
Lice on Swine .—A correspondent of the 
Cincinnati Gazette cures his hogs of lice as 
follows :—He nails three or four large copper 
cents to the bottom of the trough in which 
they are fed, and the lice all leave. The 
remedy he asserts is harmless, and has never 
failed when tried, in his section. 
Guano Frauds.—A correspondent of the 
Department of Agriculture, at Laurens, S. 
C.^ says :—“ Lost spring the fanners bought 
vast quantities of guano, expecting to pay for 
it by the 1st of November with cotton at 17 
and IS cents per pound, but as cotton com¬ 
mands only 12 cents they feel much discour¬ 
aged It is generally believed that the most 
of this guano is swamp muck or alluvial soiL 1 
TURKEY DISEASES. 
Can any of the readers of the RiAial 
New-Yorker tell me if roup in fowls affects 
the heart. 1 had a line lot of beautiful 
bronze turkeys, among which a disease has 
appeared that has proven very fatal. Some 
hod faces swollen, eyes running water, (and 
in some instances entirety’ closed,) mouths 
sore, and limbs so affected they could only 
stand with great difficulty. Some arc sick 
a few days, and others two weeks before 
dying. I have tried calomel, sulphur, char¬ 
coal, cayenne pepper, ajjd nearly every 
remedy recommended for roup, but nothing 
seems to do any good. On cutting open 
several, the heart was found surrounded 
with the appearance of bruised blood, while 
the liver seemed sound but somewhat en¬ 
larged. What is the disease and what shall 
I do for it i 
I had a number of chickens affected simi¬ 
larly to the turkeys, and with the treatment 
above mentioned, all of them have rocov- 
ered. Our cliuiate is mild, and we have had 
but little severe weather the present season. 
Our fowls have free access to barn-yards, 
clover and wheat fields, with an abundant 
supply of fresh water. Mrs. S. 
>-♦-*-* -- 
CHARCOAL FOR PACKING POULTRY. 
A CORRESPONDENT of the New York Trib¬ 
une says :—“ Some years ago I had occasion 
to freeze away a large quantity of dressed 
poultry for family use, aud found a serious 
trouble to keep it free from mold or a musty, 
spoiled flavor, although they were solidly 
frozen. Having plenty of charcoal on hand, 
I put into each fowl as much as the body 
would contain, and packed into a barrel, 
with pieces occasionally mingled therewith. 
This was in December. At the breaking up 
in the spring the fowls that had not been 
used were perfectly sweet, and as fresh as 
when packed four months previously. Since 
then, in less rigorous climates, I have tried 
the same plan, and have skipped dressed 
poultry during damp, thawy winter weather, 
without having them get soft or sticky, and 
have kept them for my own use pefectly 
fresh for two weeks in mild weather. 
HYGIENIC NOTES. 
Drinking Habits. —Dipsomania is charac¬ 
terized by an ungovernable and unremitting 
craving for alcoholic drink. No influence 
seems powerful enough to deter the subject 
of it from indulging his desires. So fearfully 
Is he under the control of this terrible im¬ 
pulse that he disregards every warning, and 
the most appalling instances of the conse¬ 
quences of drinking arc wholly without 
effect. Medical men differ in opinion with 
reference to the methods of breaking off the 
habit of drinking spirituous liquors. Some 
favor a gradual, others a sudden course. 
The latter is best and safest in most cases. 
The opinion is now advanced by those who 
have given much attention to the subject 
that if alcoholic stimulants are entirely re¬ 
moved, and sedutives and tonics judiciously 
administered, with nutritive diet, there need 
he no fears as to the result upon the health. 
How to Make a Mustard Plaster. —The 
ordinary way is to mix the mustard with 
water, tempering it with a little flour, but 
such a plaster as thut makes is simply abom¬ 
inable. Before it has half done its work it 
begins to blister the patient, and leaves him 
Anally with a painful, flayed spot, after hav¬ 
ing produced far leas effect in a beneficial 
way than was intended. Now a mustard 
plaster should never make a blister at all. 
When you make a mustard plaster, then, use 
no water whatever, but mix the mustard 
with the white of an egg and the result will 
be a plaster which will “ draw” perfectly, 
but will not produce a blister even upon the 
skin of an infant, no matter how long it is 
allowed to remain upon the part. 
Remedy for Baldness. —Some correspond¬ 
ent of the Rural New-Yorker recently 
asked for a remedy for baldness. Another 
correspondent sends us aud recommends the 
following which he clipped from a paper and 
says he has tried with good results :—Take of 
boxwood shavings, six ounces ; proof spirits, 
twelve ounces; spirits of rosemary, two 
ounces ; spirits of nutmegs, half an ounce. 
Steep shavings in the spirits at a temperature 
Of GO degrees for fourteen days; then strain 
liquid off, adding other ingredients. Rub 
scalp thoroughly every night and morning. 
Hay Fever. — I notice in Rural New- 
Yorker Nov. 15, a recipe for the cure of 
“Hay Fever.” If you please 1 would like a 
description of the symptoms of that disease 
—how it begins, at what season is it severest, 
and of those having it of long standing, how 
it afflicts them. Although I have been a 
reader of your paper for the last fifteen years 
I think I have never seen a description of 
this disease ; still there may have been and I 
overlooked it.—Jo. H. Sheldon. 
Cure for Chilblains.— Take beef brine and 
heat as hot as you can bear the feet in it, 
and soak them half, or three-quarters of an 
hour. It is an excellent remedy. —L. m. k. 
